Chapter 153 - The Maiden of the Scales, Attended by a Thousand Blades - Part 3
"I knew it would be like this, but…!!"
I was so focused on controlling my swords that I had no spare capacity for anything else. And yet, words slipped out, a testament to my partner Haru's sheer absurdity.
I can't hit him, I can't catch him…!!
Though he was still completely surrounded, I couldn't seem to stop his legs as they carried him at a blurring speed. Worse still, ever since he'd donned that armor of light, he'd begun to counterattack, taking down my magic swords one after another.
If I dispel them myself before they take too much damage, I can recover nearly ninety percent of the MP used to create them. But if they're destroyed, that resource is lost completely.
Even so, unless they were all wiped out by a powerful area-of-effect attack, I shouldn't have to worry about running out of MP. But—how was he managing to destroy nearly a hundred of them in the blink of an eye, one by one, by hand?
—And why do I find myself smiling as I watch him?
Ah, this is just so… delightful, Haru.
I can feel it.
I'm certain of it.
Above all, the look in his eyes tells me, “Of course you can.”
He's affirming me—affirming that, at some point, I finally managed to stand firmly by his side.
—Then I have to give him more.
"Schwert Kreis—"
Letting go of my command sword, I raised my right hand.
"Turm Riese!!"
Skill activated—Optimize Alert (Sword to Tower, Blade to Gravel).
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"—Tch… There it is!!"
It wasn't a metaphor; an abnormal presence suddenly swelled, shaking the very air. As I deflected yet another magic sword with my [White-Flawed Straight Sword], I turned to see it.
At the tip of Sora's raised right hand hovered a colossal sword, no less than ten meters long. A tower of steel.
That was the effect of her ridiculously overpowered unique skill, Optimize Alert. Its function was brutally simple: “enlarge and shrink the magic swords.”
By pouring in or drawing out additional MP, she could freely change their size while keeping their shape. And as I’d learned the hard way during the battles with the Dusty Worm and Angalta…
Big is strong. That's an immutable truth, a law of the universe.
On top of that, its durability skyrockets in proportion to its size, making it incredibly difficult to destroy. On the other hand, if I can destroy it, I’ll drain a significant amount of Sora’s resources, but—
"—Here I come, Haru!"
"Tch…—Alright, bring it on!!"
With clear gestures from her right hand now added to the mix, the tower-like greatsword came hurtling toward me at the same speed as a normal-sized magic sword—and of course, the barrage of countless smaller blades continued unabated.
The disparity in trajectories and attack ranges between the large and small swords, combined with the sheer mass of the greatsword obstructing my vision, created a brutal onslaught. I’d narrowly dodge the giant blade, only for a vortex of a thousand smaller ones to emerge from its shadow…
"Yeah, I knew this would be impossible!!"
How in the world was I supposed to find a moment to smash that giant sword amidst this?
The contrast between her usual, almost ladylike demeanor and her combat style was staggering. In battle, Sora was clever and cunning.
Every move she made was meticulously calculated, and those calculations naturally included defending her ultimate weapon—which was also her greatest weakness.
I could probably destroy it in one hit with a powerful counter, but the recoil would halt my momentum. The moment I stopped, the encircling ring of swords, already closing in, would turn me into a pincushion.
It was a well-thought-out strategy—or rather, I was the one who helped her come up with it. Of course it would be designed to be airtight, even against an opponent with freakish mobility like mine…
—Wait, this is even more dangerous than I thought…!!
Let me repeat myself: big is strong. No, it's just plain cheap.
And big and agile is just cheating. I'm desperately giving it my all, ten out of ten, while she's putting out a hundred with just one. There's no way to outrun that!
The absurd ability for her control strength to remain unchanged regardless of size meant the multiplication of volume, mass, and velocity was off the charts.
A simple flick of Sora's wrist brought the greatsword's instantaneous velocity dangerously close to my own top speed—while the countless magic swords perfectly filled every gap.
"There's not a single opening…!"
"I'm not done yet!"
While continuing to direct the greatsword with her right hand, her left hand began to move. In that instant, the ring of magic swords transformed once again.
"—Klein Blume!!"
In that moment, the magic swords surrounding me vanished—or so I thought. The drastic change in size had just caused me to lose track of them for a second.
If I looked closely, I could see them—a swarm of minuscule swords, shrunk to the size of pebbles, were flying at me like a cloud of dust!
"D'aaahhh!! This is a f-final b-boss!!"
Encircled by a horde of large, medium, and small projectiles with wildly different trajectories and speeds, all I could do was scream and engage in a desperate flight for my life.
I jumped to dodge the giant sword as it swung sideways, unleashing a gale, only to find more magic swords waiting for me in mid-air. I used a switch-jump to evade those, but then spotted a cloud of sword-dust at my intended landing spot and frantically leaped again—an infinite loop.
Wait a minute…!! I wasn't underestimating her at all, but experiencing her full power firsthand is far beyond anything I imagined!
And her precision with mental control!! What in the world is going on inside Sora-san's head?! I don't think I could manage that even if I had two or three brains!
Faced with such a terrifying storm of blades, dodging every single one was a pipe dream. The shields of my Lunartiar were stripped away in an instant—
"Dammit…! If it's come to this!"
I had no intention of holding anything back to begin with; there was no need for it.
—Then I guess it's time for me to unveil my second form!!
"Blink Swit—…ch!"
As I dodged the greatsword's pursuit, I summoned the black blade of [Panga Fool] to my left hand. Then, I tapped the dagger's trigger seven times—
Remaining HP: fifteen percent. Accumulated self-inflicted damage: eighty percent. Adjustments complete!
"Sorry if this looks weird!"
"—Tch… I won't let you!"
From behind the curtain of swords, Sora seemed to have realized what I was doing, but—too bad. The only action left was to stab my own heart, and that would only take a second!
My first activation 'key'—no, 'sword'—being you is rather poetic. I'm counting on you for the fake coup de grâce, [Rabbit Dagger: Parabellum]!
There was no time left for hesitation. Weaving through the swarming magic swords, I drew the crimson dagger with a loud clang, and—
"Ora...ahh!!"
—without a shred of doubt, I slammed it right into the center of my own chest.
If I don't make adjustments, my title's effect will nullify the self-inflicted damage, which means I won't be able to die.